Breeding Snakes

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Wiggles92

Dovii
MFK Member
Apr 25, 2009
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Pennsylvania
I was thinking about getting a pair or trio of snakes over the summer in preparation for breeding them in the future. I know some of you may find it wrong to acquire snakes specifically for breeding purposes, but I want them more for pet purposes; the breeding part is just to keep my costs down and make them seem like a good purchase to my parents.

I'm a fan of ball pythons and other constrictors, but I know that ones that get huge (full-size retics, full-size burms, etc.; dwarfs of those should be fine) are out of the question. I would be building custom cages for them, so I'm fine with pretty much any interesting snakes that don't get huge.

Any suggestions for snakes that are pretty easy to breed and are attractive and in demand among reptile enthusiasts?
 
Lol... you'r not going to get your money back by breeding them. It is not a lucrative hobby. Most breeders have a second job to sustain themselves.. .those that don't are generally not very well off financially or got lucky by discovering a new morph.
A lot of work, time and money goes into breeding snakes and you only get a small return IF you can find people to buy. unfortunately the easiest snakes to breed are also the ones that are way over bred.
I would not suggest ball pythons, columbian or red tail boas, or corn snakes simply for the fact that they are EVERYWHERE and there are enough unwanted snakes of those species going into shelters that we do not need to be creating anymore. Especially if they are normal or common morphs.
If you are dead set on any of those species then go for things that are a bit more rare at least.... do not breed normals.... for things like ball pythons...there is no reason to breed a normal to a normal and make more normals... they practically give them away at herp shows and as I said... tons of them already in reptile rescues....

honestly... since you do not even know what kind of snake you want, you should not even be thinking about breeding it. If you want a snake, get something you will love that you are passionate about. get it as a pet... don't get one just because it's cool, or because you think it's going to make money.
 
Sylvias;5091423; said:
Lol... you'r not going to get your money back by breeding them. It is not a lucrative hobby. Most breeders have a second job to sustain themselves.. .those that don't are generally not very well off financially or got lucky by discovering a new morph.
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I'm more looking to be able to break even or at least help defray the costs of the pet snakes by breeding them; I could care less if I make a profit. I get the whole "look at how much money you sink into those things" trip from my parents as it is, so being able to say, "Hey, their babies will help defray my costs," would be great.

Sylvias;5091423; said:
A lot of work, time and money goes into breeding snakes and you only get a small return IF you can find people to buy. unfortunately the easiest snakes to breed are also the ones that are way over bred.
I would not suggest ball pythons, columbian or red tail boas, or corn snakes simply for the fact that they are EVERYWHERE and there are enough unwanted snakes of those species going into shelters that we do not need to be creating anymore. Especially if they are normal or common morphs.
If you are dead set on any of those species then go for things that are a bit more rare at least.... do not breed normals.... for things like ball pythons...there is no reason to breed a normal to a normal and make more normals... they practically give them away at herp shows and as I said... tons of them already in reptile rescues....
Click to expand...

I want to get some of the rarer morphs, so I know that the initial financial investment is going to be pretty significant. I know that some morphs are in high demand and will go to good homes rather than shelters; I hate how people keep breeding normal or common morphs of some snakes despite the fact that many of them end up getting abandoned. I love the various rare morphs that are out there for some of the more common snakes, but I'm also a big fan of some of the standard coloration of rarer snakes. I have a family friend who's in the business of breeding rare morphs of various constrictors, mainly ball pythons, so I would be able to get help from someone who knows how to care for them and later breed them.

Sylvias;5091423; said:
honestly... since you do not even know what kind of snake you want, you should not even be thinking about breeding it. If you want a snake, get something you will love that you are passionate about. get it as a pet... don't get one just because it's cool, or because you think it's going to make money.
Click to expand...

I have wanted to get a few pet snakes for years, but I haven't been able to convince my parents that I don't need to make money off of them so breeding them is really the only way to make the snakes seem a bit more feasible. For example, I first read about ball pythons back in 2005 and instantly took a liking to them. I read everything that I could about them (care, natural history, breeding, etc.) but was unable to get any where with actually acquiring one because my parents said that it was a waste of money despite the fact that I loved having snakes as pets.

I'm a big fan of constrictors and hots, so I would love to get some of them. Of the two, I see constrictors as being the more feasible option for the time being since I can guarantee that I would scare off many friends and relatives if they knew that I kept hot snakes (although that might be a good thing in some cases). My favorite constrictors include ball pythons, boa constrictors, retics, and burms, but the last two are out of the question unless they are dwarfs.

In then end, I value them for being pets rather than as just a way to make some money. And, as always, I'll be sure to research their care, behavior, etc. before prior to designing and furnishing their cages let alone purchasing them.

So does anyone else have any viable suggestions?
 
Its kind of hard right now because so many people are really all over it all. Trying to get more people into certain species is more of a chalange to me than the breeding. Things like tiger rats and black pines, Rufus beaked snakes and such, we need more available but not a lot of people breed them or know about them, they may be more defensive than people want, but to me that makes them even more interesting. Everyone's breeding the common snakes no matter what morph you look at, lots of us sit around wondering the same thing you are, the above poster suggested getting something you love and keep it as a pet, well, I say that, and, once your heart is really on a particular species, maybe something you never researched before, then breeding them will be that much cooler. Their are so many snakes it blows my mind but you keep seeing the same ones over and over, people need to quit only wanting a snuggle snake they can hold and venture out a bit lol. Good luck, this is just off the tip of my tongue so you know, I know your hearts in the right place, just research like crazy because it is a big deal. But dont let it ruin the fun either. Just dont rush, maybe stay on the herp sites and classifieds, check whats wanted more often than not. Talk soon.
 
jason longboard;5098166; said:
Its kind of hard right now because so many people are really all over it all. Trying to get more people into certain species is more of a chalange to me than the breeding. Things like tiger rats and black pines, Rufus beaked snakes and such, we need more available but not a lot of people breed them or know about them, they may be more defensive than people want, but to me that makes them even more interesting. Everyone's breeding the common snakes no matter what morph you look at, lots of us sit around wondering the same thing you are, the above poster suggested getting something you love and keep it as a pet, well, I say that, and, once your heart is really on a particular species, maybe something you never researched before, then breeding them will be that much cooler. Their are so many snakes it blows my mind but you keep seeing the same ones over and over, people need to quit only wanting a snuggle snake they can hold and venture out a bit lol. Good luck, this is just off the tip of my tongue so you know, I know your hearts in the right place, just research like crazy because it is a big deal. But dont let it ruin the fun either. Just dont rush, maybe stay on the herp sites and classifieds, check whats wanted more often than not. Talk soon.
Click to expand...

Rofous beaked snakes are in demand? I read an article on them the other day and thought that they were pretty cool, but I never would have thought that many people wanted them. I'll have to do some more reading on them; they definitely seem to be a pretty cool display species although I wouldn't try to handle them since they're mildly venomous.

I also just looked up the tiger rat snakes; they're pretty awesome looking, too!

Thanks; now I have more snakes to research!
 
Well for some of us they are in demand if you are not afraid of something different. Tiger rats are more defensive ,,rufous not so much from what I researched. Depends on the animal though.They are on my list if I get room, and a lot of people handle them you just dont want it to chew on you, same with hognose and some others. You will find info to the extremes leaning both ways, personally I will handle mine if I get one but again, thats just me. From my research I dont believe they can hurt you unless they really bite the hell out of you. Im not suggesting anyone do it though because I would.
 
jason longboard;5100704; said:
Well for some of us they are in demand if you are not afraid of something different. Tiger rats are more defensive ,,rufous not so much from what I researched. Depends on the animal though.They are on my list if I get room, and a lot of people handle them you just dont want it to chew on you, same with hognose and some others. You will find info to the extremes leaning both ways, personally I will handle mine if I get one but again, thats just me. From my research I dont believe they can hurt you unless they really bite the hell out of you. Im not suggesting anyone do it though because I would.
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Ya, I read about the rofous beaked snakes being mildly venomous, but the venom is supposed to be of no consequence to humans. Based on the article, they can be handled with no trouble at all and seem to be very alert and interesting snakes.
 
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